A 45-year-old woman has had a debilitating, orange-sized tumour surgically removed from her jaw for free after she was spotted by team workers from international charity Mercy Ships in her village in Madagascar.
Unable to afford surgery, mother-of-four Marie Elisa had lived with the growing tumour for five years. The condition caused severe weight loss, forced her to stop farming, and left her family struggling financially.
What began as a simple toothache at age 40 became relentless pain that drove her to a pharmacy in Berangotra, a village in central Madagascar, where she was given pain relievers.
Marie Elisa recalled: “The painkillers helped for a time. The swelling started, and it kept getting bigger until it reached this point.”
As the tumour grew, she could no longer farm, and her family lost their income. This forced her youngest daughter to drop out of school.
“I could no longer work in the fields or sell at the market,” she said. “And my daughter had to stop school because I couldn’t pay her fees.”
Every day, Marie Elisa walked to her local church to pray. “I’m praying to Jesus to be healthy and able to work again,” she explained.
Desperate for relief, she turned to traditional healers, but the tumour continued to grow. Though a doctor recommended surgery, the cost was far beyond her means.
In January 2024, a patient selection team from Mercy Ships was travelling across Madagascar to find patients for free surgeries aboard the hospital ship Africa Mercy®, docked in Toamasina. During their journey, a cyclone in northern Madagascar disrupted their plans, forcing the team to take an unplanned route.
Driving through a small village they had not intended to visit, they noticed a woman with a visible tumour walking by the market—Marie Elisa.
“We saw Marie Elisa walking through the market and three of us yelled, ‘Stop the bus!’” recalled Maddy Hartung, an Australian volunteer nurse with the team.
They stepped off the bus, weaving through the curious crowd, introducing themselves, and sharing photos of patients who had received life-changing surgery on the ship.
“We explained that we’d seen someone we might be able to help,” Maddy said. “The whole village turned, pointing at Marie Elisa, rushing over to bring her to meet us.”
The team set up a temporary clinic on the village chief’s front porch to examine Marie Elisa, explaining the possibility of free surgery. Though initially cautious, she took a leap of faith. “I was sick and willing to risk it—I had nothing to lose,” she said.
Emboldened by the possibility of free healthcare, Marie Elisa mentioned that her husband, Claude, had an eye issue. After the assessment, the team found him eligible for eye surgery. Both were ultimately scheduled for free surgeries on the Africa Mercy, albeit at separate times.
“She was meant to be on that side of the road; God had a plan for her,” Maddy reflected.
Marie Elisa travelled for three days to Toamasina to the ship. Due to severe weight loss from the tumour, the doctors put her on a nutrition program to regain strength. Weeks later, she was cleared for surgery.
She received care from volunteer crew onboard including UK and US maxillofacial and head and neck surgeons Dr. Leo Cheng and Dr. Gary Parker.
Dr. Erik Andersen, a volunteer anaesthetic supervisor from Australia, reflected on her case: “Without surgery, her condition would have worsened, with the mass pressing on her airway and making it hard to breathe or eat.”
“I thank God the tumour was removed and I’m healthy again. The surgery went well, and now I can eat normally without any issues,” Marie Elisa shared eagerly, ready to return home after her successful operation.
When Marie Elisa returned home safely, her husband Claude was relieved.
“With her so far away, all I could do was pray,” he recalled. “I kept saying, ‘Oh God, please heal my wife and free her from this illness.’”
A few weeks later, it was Claude’s turn for surgery to remove a cyst from his left eye—a condition that had affected him for five years. This time, Marie Elisa returned to the ship not as a patient, but as his caregiver.
When Claude was discharged, the couple was filled with hope for the future.
For Marie Elisa, the thought of returning to her vegetable and potato fields brought excitement.
“When I’m fully recovered and nothing bothers me, I can go back to my former job,” she said.
